Chef McDang and I first met at the California Culinary Academy (CCA) two years ago. The Royal Thai Consulate General in Los Angeles contacted CCA about an opportunity to have a Thai chef come for a week to conduct lectures and demos about Thai cookery. At the end of the week, the students participated in a competition cooking Pad Thai where the winners won a one-week all expenses paid culinary trip hosted by the Thai chef compliments of the Royal Thai Consulate General office. How can any school turn down that kind of an offer?!
I didn’t know what to expect of the Thai chef and just hoped he spoke English well enough for our students to understand him. He showed up promptly at 9am on the first day with his entourage of four sous chefs and said with a British-American twang something along the lines of, “show me my kitchen and I’ll take care of everything else.” From that moment I knew he was going to be a lot of fun.
Over the next two years we remained in contact and when he came to the states again he visited CCA to do a one-day lecture and demo. The students were enthralled by him and hung on his every word. He could’ve spoke Thai the entire time and they wouldn’t have cared.
Fast forward to July 2010. Jon and I had been looking forward to visiting Thailand ever since we started our Pacific Asia tour. We knew we couldn’t come to Thailand without seeing Chef McDang. Little did we know or prepare ourselves for the adventure.
We stayed with Chef McDang off and on over the last month as we traveled around Thailand. There’s a joke that we refer to his home as “the compound” because of its size and grandeur but also it sucks you in and makes you not want to leave. He opened his home and life to us and allowed us to see the incredible man behind the chef’s coat. We enjoyed hearing stories of his childhood in the royal palace to his personal relationships with his family. I hope one day he will write an autobiography because it would be fascinating to read. His generosity extended beyond our stay with him. We have met so many fascinating people from his mom, who was just recently featured in a magazine about her life; to his father, a very prominent figure in Thai society; to his cousin, who is the Governor of Bangkok. But let’s not forget Pai, his nephew, who gave us an insight on what it’s like to be a young Thai entrepreneur.
Just prior to our arrival, Chef McDang launched his first ever Thai cookbook in English. It took five years to complete the book and it is beautifully done. What is unique about the book is that it's not just a cookbook full of recipes but a story book taking the reader along a journey exploring Thai culture, eating habits, and how those two elements influence the food they cook. Chef McDang shared with us his experience in creating the book and his passion and hard work is evident from the first page to the last. It is also an illustration that following one's passion makes dreams into reality.
There are many highlights of our travels and our time with Chef McDang is certainly one of them. His kindness knows no boundaries and we can’t thank him enough for everything he has done to make our travel a memorable one. One thing I will always remember fondly is his impersonation of people, which cracks me up every time.
Chef McDang…thank you doesn’t describe our sincere gratitude. You are one great friend and an amazing chef. We hope to see you again in Thailand or in the states.
If you are interested in purchasing The Principles of Thai Cookery it is available at Barnes & Noble.com and soon it will be available on Amazon.